[Ti] Apple Store Service blows

[NaegeleWDC at aol.com]

Steve Wozniak has written:

"A lot of great long-time Apple dealers, devoted to the Macintosh and their customers, have been recently shut down by Apple.

"Basically, they were presented contracts with lengthy methods for dispute resolution, and had to sign away rights to even a jury trial after tons of other resolution methods. They were given the choice to sign it or be turned off. He who writes the contact stacks the deck. I'm sure that these contracts made everything work in Apple's favor.

"In recent times the TiBooks and other new products have been distributed to such dealers months after the Apple Stores got them. There is now a class action lawsuit about this (anti-trust). I suspect that Apple is having the dealers to sign an agreement whereby Apple has no legal worry, whereby it's virtually impossible to win any case against Apple. That also makes it easier for Apple to cut any of them off.

"It's too bad, because many of these dealers have done a great job and cared so much about Apple and about the customers."

Obviously Steve is correct; however, I assume that Apple is trying to bring the quality of its resellers up to a level approaching that of its Apple Stores, and using its economic power to achieve the goals that it desires.  I write tough, one-sided contracts, and that is what someone has done on Apple's behalf and now its resellers can choose to sign or not as they see fit.  Perhaps it ain't fair, but that is how the world turns.

I bought my Ti 800 at the Fashion Island Apple Store last May, and took a PC friend of mine with me to check for dead pixels, scratches, etc., before I paid for the machine.  There were none, but paint bubbling later developed and Apple fixed the problem with a one-day turnaround.

I have visited other Apple Stores, which are very impressive; and the Apple people there seem genuinely interested in helping, just as those at Macworld Expo want to help.  However, their principal role is to sell Apple products and that is what they are doing.  PC friends of mine have also been impressed, so the stores are accomplishing their goals.

My sense is that Apple runs a "tight ship" in terms of responding to problems; and similar to what has happened in the past, they fix them when they have no other choice, by and large.  Since I am in my fifth generation of PowerBooks, I don't have experiences with PC companies, but I would expect the "survivors" to operate similarly or they would risk going out of business.

Years ago I gave up the notion that we are part of "Apple's family," as many of us thought we were.  It's a cutthroat business, and Apple acts accordingly -- without much if any sentimentality.

Tim Naegele

www.naegele.com

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